Hey, it’s Brooks. Welcome to Mondays with Money Marketers, where Wall Street meets Madison Avenue.

As a quick reminder, we provide flexible, compliance-approved content solutions for financial service firms to help retain clients and generate leads.

Every Monday we share tips and tricks we’ve learned that you can implement yourself.

Before we dive in here's a link to my calendar if you'd like to discuss how we can help you generate more business.

In today’s edition:

• Analyzing Email Campaign Performance

• 5 Content Marketing Ideas for January 2025

• 2025 Predictions On Investing And Wealth Management

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LINKS WORTH A LOOK

🗣️ Marketing News & Insights

• 7 top marketing campaigns from 2024 and the tactics that drove success (MarketingDive)

• 5 Content Marketing Ideas for January 2025 (Practical Ecommerce)

• Why the Best Form of Digital Marketing for Advisors Is Not Social Media (TravelAgeWest)

💼 Industry News & Insights

• Advisers ‘not doing enough’ to attract next generation of clients (Money Marketing)

• Gamified investing apps are becoming more popular — but can be risky for young investors (The Conversation)

• 2025 Predictions On Investing And Wealth Management (Forbes)

🤔 Honorable Mentions

• AI Ads Can Look Weird. Brands Like Coca-Cola Are Making Them Anyway. (WSJ)

• Avoid These 3 Pitfalls When Using Generative AI in Client Communications (Morningstar)

• What Trump's Win Means for Estate Tax Planning (ThinkAdvisor)

DEEP DIVE

Analyzing Email Campaign Performance: Key Metrics to Track

When it comes to running email marketing campaigns, analyzing performance is just as important as crafting the perfect email.

You’ve spent hours developing content, fine-tuning subject lines, and selecting the right audience, but if you’re not tracking the right metrics, how do you know if your efforts are paying off?

In my experience working with financial service firms, I’ve learned that success in email marketing hinges on understanding your key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are the metrics I focus on when evaluating campaign performance:

Open Rate (Duh)

This is the first thing I look at. Open rate measures the percentage of recipients who open your email. It’s a clear indicator of how effective your subject lines are and how engaged your audience is.

According to Constant Contact, the average open rate for Financial Services (accounting services, bookkeeping, advisor, insurance and brokerage, etc) is 34.79%.

If your open rate is lagging, try testing new subject lines. Make them concise, intriguing, and relevant to your audience. We have more on this below.

That’s why the next metric is really becoming what email marketers are watching the most…

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Open rates get people in the door, but click-through rates tell you if they’re engaging with your content. CTR measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link within your email. For me, this is a critical metric—it’s where you see if your content is driving action.

Improving CTR often comes down to clear calls to action (CTAs) and well-placed links. Don’t bury your CTA at the bottom of the email; make it prominent and persuasive.

In case you missed it we dedicated an entire edition to CTAs last week.

Conversion Rate

Ultimately, email campaigns are about results. Conversion rate tracks the percentage of recipients who completed a desired action, such as booking a call or signing up for a webinar. This metric connects your email efforts directly to your business goals.

If your conversion rate isn’t where you want it to be, evaluate the entire user journey. Is the landing page aligned with the email’s messaging? Is the form too long? A seamless experience can make a huge difference.

Bounce Rate

Bounce rate measures the percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered. A high bounce rate can hurt your sender reputation and impact future campaigns. I always monitor this metric closely and clean up email lists regularly to maintain a healthy sender score.

Unsubscribe Rate

While it can sting to see people leaving your list, the unsubscribe rate is an important health check. If it spikes, it’s a sign that your content isn’t resonating with your audience. I’ve found that segmenting lists and tailoring content to specific audience needs significantly reduces unsubscribes.

Build a Dashboard for Subject Line Analysis

To truly understand what works and what doesn’t, I recommend creating a dashboard to track subject lines and preview texts used in your campaigns. Include details like whether subject lines were short or long, if they featured emojis, and any patterns in tone or phrasing. Over time, you’ll be able to see which campaigns had the highest open rates and identify trends.

For instance, if you notice that shorter subject lines with emojis consistently lead to higher open rates, you can adopt that format more often. This kind of analysis allows you to refine your strategy based on real data, ensuring your emails perform better with each iteration.

We have a dashboard we can send to you. Just reply to this email and I’ll forward it over.

Final Thoughts

Analyzing email performance isn’t just about looking at numbers; it’s about understanding your audience and continuously improving. By focusing on these key metrics, I’ve helped clients refine their strategies and achieve better results.

Remember, email marketing is a journey. Stay curious, test new ideas, and always look for ways to add value to your audience. The data is there to guide you; it’s up to you to act on it.

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